Institutional Vision
Georgian Court University is a thriving Mercy university in the Catholic tradition contributing to the local and world communities through its merciful and competent graduates who lead and serve.
GCU includes both an outstanding Women’s College and the coeducational University College educating women and men in undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Georgian Court University, founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, provides comprehensive liberal arts education in the Roman Catholic tradition. The university has a special concern for women and is a dynamic community committed to the core values of Justice, Respect, Integrity, Service and Compassion, locally and globally.
Georgian Court University provides students with:
a curriculum broad enough to be truly liberal, yet specialized enough to support further study and future careers;
an environment for the entire university community to grow through shared educational, cultural, social and spiritual experiences;
the will to translate concern for social justice into action.
(Mission Statement approved by the Board of Trustees February 11, 2002)
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Georgian Court University is committed to the following guiding principles:
Respect: We reverence the dignity of all persons and all life as gifts of God and strive to promote community in our world.
Integrity: We believe that fidelity to moral principles, honesty, and sincerity are the basis of trustworthiness in all encounters.
Justice: We believe ordering of right relationships with all persons and all creation is fundamental to our advocacy for structures that protect the vulnerable.
Compassion: We embrace the joys and sorrows of others to whom and with whom we minister and are moved to action in solidarity with the human community.
Service: We joyfully extend our energy and resources on behalf of the poor, sick and uneducated, working to relieve misery and address its causes where possible.
These values are the roots from which Georgian Court University activities, decisions and behaviors flow.
Goals
University Culture: GCU is a vibrant teaching and learning community grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition and guided by the Mercy Core Values.
Community: GCU is a dynamic community promoting leadership, collaborative processes and shared governance.
Student Achievement: GCU graduates achieve the academic excellence and professional preparation needed for lifelong learning, personal growth and responsible citizenship.
Concern for Women: GCU affirms its historic concern for women through a commitment to unique learning experiences for all students and features an outstanding women’s college with a celebrated leadership program.
Social Justice from Concern to Action: GCU supports social change to promote human rights, diversity, sustainability of the environment and the common good of society.
Directions for Strategic Planning
1. Deepen our engagement and understanding in root traditions and values.
2. Accelerate the development of an environment focused on student learning, and support the faculty/University community in new projects.
3. Utilize professional best practices to meet the highest standards of integrity, stewardship, and fiscal responsibility in every function and at every level of the University.
4. Engage in collaborative planning and decision making for the common good.
5. Promote leadership by valuing diversity of thought, personal initiative, and courage in all members of the community.
6. Establish a teaching and learning model that integrates/links/ties intellectual, personal, and professional experiences focused on the total education of each student.
7. Provide additional significant learning experiences for students as a means of financing their education and acquiring life skills.
8. Align program offerings to better meet the emerging societal needs and markets.
9. Ensure that members of the community can demonstrate an understanding of the role of gender in the human experience.
10. Engage the entire University community in action-based involvement in the critical systemic social issues of our time.